


The Red String

by AshREvans



Series: Soulmate AU [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7848868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshREvans/pseuds/AshREvans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is going to be a series based off of this as well and it's going to be much longer. Each of those POV changes is going to be a chapter so there are at least 8 chapters already planned. There's going to be more written for each of those POV changes so you can get more of the story and well. </p><p>I'm going to shut up about that gem. You'll all figure it out when you read it. </p><p>For now I hope you enjoy the story! </p><p>I'm open to feedback so feel free to comment!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Red String

[Soulmate AU where whatever you write on your body shows up on your soulmate’s body in the same place.]

     

    The writing began appearing on my arm when I turned 18. At first it scared me, then that scared feeling turned into confusion. I thought I was drawing this stuff on my arm and forgetting about it until a name and a phone number appeared on my skin one day. I didn’t know what was happening, but I called the number, thinking that it was important. I didn’t think I knew anyone named _Jade Harley_ but if I wrote it down then it was something that I probably needed to remember, wasn’t it?

    I dialed the number and it was barely a few seconds before the phone picked up and a voice filtered into my ear.

    “Dave?” she said, her voice sounding way to high. “Is that you?”

    “Ah… no. Wrong number sorry,” I said quickly and hung up.

    I dropped the phone from my ear and plopped it on my bed, my heart pounding.

    How as this possible? How was someone named Dave writing things on my arm? I used to be so confused and scared, but I chose to ignore it. I went about my life and eventually the writing stopped and the only drawings on my arms were things I put there myself.

*     *     *

    That stupid writing on my arm cost me the hottest girl I’ve ever seen. What the hell was it anyway? I had called Jade the day after she gave me her number and asked her on a date, everything went according to plan. We planned it for the next weekend, classic first date shenanigans of dinner and a movie, not a big deal.

    The drawings started appearing on my arm the day after we had set up that date. They were really good, way beyond my ability and that was the highest of all compliments from yours truly. It was weird. Stuff like this didn’t start happening until my 18th birthday.

    Anyway I went on that date with Jade and we were at dinner, I was wearing a long sleeve shirt to try to hide the drawings. It was getting warm in the restaurant and I rolled my sleeves up, completely forgetting about the drawings on my arms. Jade reached out and grabbed my arm and looked at them.

     _“Did you draw these?” she asked._

     _She knew my drawing ability so it wasn’t like I could exactly lie to her. “Ah, no. They just sort of appeared on my arm one day. They never last longer than a day or two, though,” I said as I saw her start to frown. “Is something wrong?”_

     _“Actually, yes, Dave, there is,” she sighed and leaned backwards. “Have you ever heard something about the soulmate principle?”_

     _“That stupid fairy tale parents tell their children to give them hope about finding someone when they get older?” I asked, thinking the entire idea around it was stupid and disgustingly romantic._

     _“Well, I’ve heard it’s not just a fairy tale. Basically if you write something on your skin it’ll appear on your soulmates skin in the same place. When you finally meet your soulmate though, it’s said to disappear completely,” Jade explained as she began packing up her things._

     _“Wait, where are you going?” I asked._

     _“Well, I had hoped that you were mine but…” she rolled up her own sleeve to show me writing on her arm that wasn’t in her_ _handwriting. “I guess not. I’m sorry, Dave. Maybe we can still be friends.”_

    I did the polite thing and said sure and brought her home like a gentleman, but I rarely talked to her after that. That was almost 5 year ago. The drawing still showed up and occasionally I would draw or write something as well. One time the person on the other end of the proverbial telephone and I drew something together. It came out really well and I still have the picture on my phone somewhere buried in the recesses of its memory.

    Even though whoever this was cost me Jade Harley, this new person seemed pretty cool at least. I wonder what she looked like. Was she hot? Cute? Passable? What did she sound like? Could she sing? As the years passed for some reason, I couldn’t help but wonder who she was. I was always thinking about her. I wanted to meet her. I needed to.

*     *     *

    I reached out to grab my coffee that morning when writing appeared on my arm. The barista pointed it out, looking at me with an envious look. I quickly thanked and handed him the cash before I ran into my car and looked at my wrist. Sure enough, as I was looking, letters started to appear and those letters became words.

     _Hey, I’m Dave Strider. What’s your name?_

    My heart stopped and I put my coffee down and looked for a pen.

     _Who wants to know?_ I scribbled quickly.

     _Your soulmate._

    I stopped breathing for a second. Not sure what to write. What did he mean _my soulmate_?

*     *     *

    I looked at my arm. She still didn’t say anything. My heart was pounding and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Did I scare her off? Did she think I was some sort of creep now? I was just about to wash my arm off when I started to notice the writing.

     _What do you mean soulmate? I don’t understand._

    I grinned a bit and started to write was Jade told me that night five years ago. There was another long pause before she wrote down her name for me.

     ______ _______. It’s nice to meet you… I think._

     _Aw you think? I’m the best damn guy you’ll ever meet._

     _I barely know you and honestly… I think it’s a little weird to be talking to someone while writing on my arm…_

     _Then how about we meet?_

     _I um… I’m not sure about that. I’m sorry. I gotta go. It was nice talking to you, Dave._

     _Talk to you later?_

    I didn’t get a response from that one and I capped my marker. I walked to the sink and washed off my arm before I got ready to work. While I was there, I’d use my sources to find out who this _____ _______ person was and find out where she lived. I was going to meet the girl who was supposed to be my soulmate if it was the last thing I did.

     

    I walked back into my apartment after work with a name, address and phone number. Too bad she lived in a completely different state, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I had a few weeks of vacation coming up that my boss was insisting I take, so I guessed a trip was in order.

    Walking over to my laptop I turned it on and looked up everything I would need to know for travelling to (home state). I needed a plane ticket, a hotel to stay in, a rental car…

    Hours passed and I finally had everything ready for me to leave. I printed out the ticket information for the flight there and information for the hotel before I tugged my shirt off and walked into my room with my marker. I flopped down on my mattress and held my arm up.

     _Hey_ , I wrote, hoping she’d answer.

*     *     *

    I was brushing my teeth when I saw the red writing appear on my arm in the mirror. I jumped and nearly choked on my toothbrush. I quickly finished up and washed my face before I walked into my room, grabbing a pen from my desk on the way there.

     _Don’t do that!!_ I wrote

     _Do what?_

     _Scare me! I nearly choked on my toothbrush, thank you very much._

     _Getting ready for bed, are you?_ He wrote and I could almost feel the horny teenager vibes radiating through me from him.

     _Pervert._ I wrote simply.

     _Oh, come on. We’re supposed to be soulmates; can’t I tease you a little bit?_

     _No._

     _Ouch. You wound me._

     _That’s the idea._ I wrote. My heart was pounding, now I was teasing him. How did this even happen?

     _Oh, I get it. You can tease me, but I can’t tease you? Talk about double standards._ He wrote.

     _Of course. You have me at a disadvantage. I have to even the playing field a little bit._

     _How do *I* have *you* at a disadvantage?_

     _You know about this soulmate thing and I’m still confused as to what the hell is going on. I can’t get over the fact that I’m talking to someone by writing on my arm. It strange._

     _I thought I explained it to you._

     _But how did you know?_

     _It was an old children’s story. Something parents would tell their kids at night so that they would have hope of finding someone in the future. I didn’t believe it at first._

     _At first?_

     _It wasn’t until I was 18 that I actually believed it. Then I started seeing writing and drawings on my arm. It was a girl that told me about it. She wanted me to be her soulmate, but I guess you’re the one I’m supposed to be with._

     _I’m not sure I want to be with someone just because some cosmic force is pushing us together. It seems forced, unnatural to me._

    It was some time before he wrote back. I almost put my arm down and tried to go to sleep before the writing started again.

     _You haven’t met me. You might like me once you’ve met me. Meet me. I promise you won’t regret it. Please._

    It almost felt like he was pleading with me. My heart went out to him, but I was scared.

     _I don’t know… I’m sorry, Dave. But I can’t right now._

    I put my arm down and dropped the pen onto the ground. I shoved my arm under my pillow and closed my eyes. I wasn’t going to talk to him anymore. I had a busy week ahead of me. I didn’t have time to think about some guy. I needed to focus. I’ve been out of school for a year now, working full time as a waitress. This week was lined up with interviews for me to try and get a job in my field.

*     *     *

    I stared at my arm. The rest of the conversation started to fade but my last words to her were still plain as day.

     _Don’t call it unnatural until you meet me. It could be something amazing. Give me a chance._

    I sighed and dropped my arm. I really hope when she met me she wouldn’t think it was unnatural. I closed my eyes. The day after tomorrow I would meet her. I would find her and when she met me, then she was sure to realize that it wasn’t something forced.

     

    I woke up the next morning and made sure I had everything packed for my flight. When everything was set, I grabbed the stuff I printed the night before and pulled out my phone, calling for a taxi to take me to the airport. No need to leave my car in the long term parking. It was more than a waste of money when I could just leave my car in my apartment parking spot.

    Ten minutes after I called my taxi, I walked outside of my building and pulled my luggage up to the curb and stood by it until I saw the yellow and black car pull up in front of me. The driver rolled down the window and leaned over.

    “Car for Dave Strider to the airport?”

    “That’s me,” I replied and adjusted my shades.

    “I’ll open the trunk for you,” the driver said.

    I nodded and picked up my suitcase, computer bag and travelling carrier for any miscellaneous music equipment that I could use while I was there. Even though I worked as a PI during the day didn’t mean I couldn’t crank out a hella sick beat every now and then. I loaded the stuff into the trunk of the taxi and closed it before I hoped into the car with the taxi driver.

    He started driving and made some small talk with me until we reached the airport and he asked me what terminal I needed to be at. Driving through the fuster cluck that is the airport, he finally stopped at my terminal and let me get out of the car with my bags before I paid my fair and he drove off. I pulled them inside and walked up to the American Airlines baggage check line.

    Three cheers for dealing with airline shenanigans! Hip, hip… You know how it goes.

*     *     *

    When I woke up, I noticed the last thing Dave wrote to me and I sighed. I was sticking by what I said and what I thought. I wasn’t going to worry about him right now. Maybe on Saturday or something when I’ve finished jumping through all of the hoops I have to and land a new job. Maybe if I didn’t talk to him until then, he would give me a few days space…

     

    I stretched my arms as I walked out of the first of many interviews. Dave hadn’t tried to talk to me since yesterday, so thankfully, I didn’t have any interruptions during the talk with my hopefully new boss. It would be an awkward time having to explain to him why weird writing was appearing on my arm for no reason.

     _I think you nailed that, ______._ I thought to myself. _He gave you a coffee shop recommendation. I don’t think he would do that to just any interviewee._

    I looked at the address on my arm. That was just around the corner from where I just was. I could probably use a cup of coffee or maybe something sweet like hot chocolate. I adjusted the strap on my laptop back. Maybe I could even reward myself a little more and scroll through my social media. Nothing can help me unwind better then coffee and Tumblr.

    Walking into the shop, I walked up to the counter and ordered my favorite type of coffee before looking around for an empty table. Luckily I found one by a wall plug so I would be able to plug in my computer if I stayed here for a while. I wasn’t planning on it, but you never know when it comes to Tumblr. As I sat down and started typing in my password, I noticed something appearing on my pinky.

    It was a thin line all around my pinky and at the top a bow was being formed. I sighed. I thought he got the message the night after last. Shaking my hand, I just ignored it and sipped my coffee and started scrolling through my dashboard.

*     *     *

    I stared as she was looking at her finger and the red string I drew on our pinkies. At least I knew I had the right girl. She was beautiful. Even more so then Jade. Her hair was (h/s) and (h/c). She looked so confident in the way she held herself, even as she was scrolling through Tumblr.

    I took a deep breath.

     _All right, Dave. Now all you gotta do is go up to her and chat her up. You can do this._

    I stood up and took a step towards her before I stopped.

     _Nope. Nope nope nope._

    I turned around and sat back down. I put my hands on either side of my head and started scrubbing them back and forth, successfully messing up my hair.

     _Damn it, Dave. Just do it. She’s your soulmate! Talk. To. Her._

    I lifted my head and fixed my hair, nodding decisively.

     _I’m cool. I’m cooler then cool. I’m the coolest. I’m going to do it._

    I stood again but this time, I couldn’t even get a step away from my table. I started to feel the stares of the people around me. I dropped my face on the desk.

    “Damn it,” I muttered. “Why am I so lame?”

    “Because you’re thinking too much.”

    I looked up and saw one of the patrons of the café looking at me. It was a boy with blue eyes and glasses. Wait. I know those glasses.

    “John?”

    “Hey Dave,” he said and smiled.

    “What are you doing here?”

    “I live here in town now. I thought you knew I went to school in the area,” he said and walked behind me.

    Before I had the chance to ask him what he was doing, he put his hands under my arms and stood me up.

    “You’re going to talk to that girl over there, right?” he asked and pointed to _____.

    I nodded and looked to the side, pouting a bit. “What of it?”

    “Nothing, just helping my friend out,” he said and slipped a paper into my pocket. “Call me later and let me know how it worked out,” he told me before he pushed me towards _____.

    I stumbled and looked back at him as he waved and grinned that stupid grin of his and walked out of the coffee stop, pulling out his phone. That dork was probably playing Pokémon Go or something like that…

    Just as that thought went through my head I felt myself bump into something soft and I fell backwards on my ass, my shades tumbling from my face and skidding under a chair.

    “I’m so sorry,” I said and looked up to find that I ran into _____. My breath caught.

    She was leaning down to pick up my fallen shades. When she had them in her hands, she turned to look at me. She opened her mouth to say something but the second her eyes met mine, I thought I heard her breath catch as well. Then I saw her eyes flick from my face to my arm. My hand more specifically. I watched as realization dawned on her when she saw what she was looking for.

    “Dave?” she asked.

    I nodded and cleared my throat, standing up. “The one and only,” I said and held out my hand.

    She looked at my hand, looking confused and unsure of what to do. Then she realized and put my shades back in my hand. I put them back on and looked to the side.

    “What are you doing here?” she asked.

    “I um… I wanted to meet you. Just once,” I said. “So you can truly decide if this is unnatural. If you do, I’ll leave.”

*     *     *

    I stared at Dave as he faced me. It was hard to tell if he was looking right at me or to the side with those shades on, but the way he was standing in front of me made it impossible for me to look away. Especially after I saw those brilliantly red eyes of his. I wanted to see them again.

    He sighed and started to turn away. “I’ll take that as a no. At least I got to meet you,” he said.

    “W-wait!” I said and reached out for his arm, catching his wrist. “I um… stay. Please.”

    Dave looked at me and I thought I saw his face light up for a split second before it was gone. He nodded and shrugged nonchalantly, but even he couldn’t hide the happy note in his voice.

    “Yeah, sure. I’d like that,” he said before he sat down next to me.

[Slightly Extended Version]

    I walked into my hotel room that night and pulled out the slip of paper John slipped into my back pocket. Typing in his phone number, I pressed the send button and put the device up to my ear. A few rings later and he picked up.

    “Hello?”

    “Hey, John, it’s me. Dave,” I said.

    “Oh! Hey, Dave! How’d it go?” he asked.

    “As if you don’t already know how it went. I’m Dave Strider. I rocked it.”

    “Mmhmm. I seem to remember you on the ground with you shades off gaping at _____ like a Magikarp,” he said.

    “You saw that? Wait… how did you know her name?” I asked.

    “Isn’t it obvious? I’m her new boss,” he said and I could practically hear the smug look he was giving me through the phone lines. 


End file.
